The Sinful Life of The Emperor

Zed and the Dark Beast now found themselves in free fall, rapidly descending to the base of the crumbling pool house. Alongside them, glass panels fell and they gazed at each other through those panels.

The Dark Beast let out a roar and pounced on him in the middle of the free fall. It swept out a claw, slashing through a glass panel.

As the glass panel shattered into sharp fragments and the claw approached, Zed snorted. A few of the glass fragments stabbed him and blood splashed out, but he didn't let out a single grunt.

"I might not lack money, but I hate seeing my property destroyed!"

The whip of flame in his hand slithered through the glass fragments and coiled around the dangerously-close claw.

The moment the whip coiled, heat needles exploded out of it, and stabbed the other foreleg, preventing the other claw from being used momentarily.

Alongside this, Zed tapped his feet on a falling glass panel below him, and leaped forward. He leaped through glass fragments and metallic supports that were initially holding the panels, and arrived above the Dark Beast.

In mid-leap, violent heat erupted out of his eyes. He stretched his free hand down to put it on the head of the startled Dark Beast.

"Incinerate."

Spiraling flames rushed out of his palm to envelop the Dark Beast. Before the Dark Beast could react, its body finally arrived close to the toppled floor, giving it no time to react. The beast realized this was a heaven-sent opportunity for the human, using the action of gravity and the surrounding for his benefit...

Wrapped by spiraling flames, the beast slammed on the floor with a thundering bang sound.

BOOM!

As its body slammed, explosive shockwaves spread out, roiling volcanic heat. The crumbled pool house exploded into a blazing firestorm!

Outside, Felicity and others leaped backward as terrifying fire waves splashed out along with burning splinters and glass fragments. The engulfed in fire splinters and fragments smashed into the grass, sending grass and mud flying in all directions.

Alongside, the scorching heat washed through the swimming pool. The water instantly evaporated into mist. The statues and grass withered to ashes.

"He has turned stronger!"

Felicity thought as she looked at the place where the pool house used to be. In the middle of dancing wild flames, Zed stood like the god of fire.

Electrical wires and digital circuits continuously exploded around him, making the flames stronger.

He lifted a finger and swiped it down. Simultaneously, the flames snuffed out like candles being extinguished.

Meanwhile, some distance away, the sudden shockwaves from the pool house gave an opportunity to the Dark Beast fighting Loren.

Earlier, she used her psionic strength to slow down or numb the Dark Beast's body parts whenever the beast attacked and then retaliate by inducing nightmares in the beast's mind.

Now, the beast used the opportunity from the exploded pool house to pounce on her. By the time she raised a hand and rippled out psionic strength, the beast's claw occupied her entire eyesight. The claw glowed with black energy, like the manifestation of the scythe of the death god. She could only wait for the scythe to swing and slice her head.

BANG

A banging sound reverberated and she saw flame slamming into the claw rushing at her, pushing it away. Startled and thankful for the chance, she retreated.

Finally, she saw what saved her. A rotating column of flames.

It shot out of Zed's hands and slammed onto the beast. Having being caught off guard, the beast backed away and made a safe distance.

At the same time, flames erupted under Zed's feet and his speed exploded. In an instant, he arrived in front of Loren.

With a polite expression, he asked, "Are you fine?"

Loren was surprised but she nodded.

Zed noticed a cut on her right cheek from which blood streamed down. The crimson droplets of blood had a trace of black...

"The cut is most likely infected with black energy. Let me clean it."

He wiped the blood with his right hand, making her stunned.

Some twenty meters away, Olly was facing another beast and survived so far mostly due to luck, even if it was mostly bad luck. Whenever he was about to die, the shockwaves from other's battle would push both him and the beast attacking him.

Now, as he tried to create some distance and swing his energy chain, he looked in his sister's direction for some help. What he saw made him shocked.

His sister's face being caressed by Zed!

Zed wasn't truly caressing her face, but simply wiping blood from her wound. Alongside this, he emitted some heat to kill the black energy inside the wound.

But from Olly's direction, the cut wasn't visible as it was on another cheek. So, he only saw Zed's hand moving on Loren's cheek, rubbing it slowly, and her sister staring at Zed.

"Fucking bastard! He is romancing with my sister in the middle of a battle!"

As a brother, he has a protective instinct for his sister. This situation naturally made him angered.

He cursed the gods and then asked them if they weren't satisfied with that devilish Kiba turning his life hell?

THUD

Sadly, he found the wrong time to be distracted even if it was for a few seconds. All his luck disappeared as the Dark Beast attacking him cut through the energy chain. The backlash of which rattled his body and sent him flying.

He slammed against a tree and landed on the ground, vomiting a mouthful of blood.

The beast leaped at him.

Olly quickly lifted both hands to summon another energy chain, but by then, the beast closed in. It stepped on his hands and a crunching sound rang out.

Olly screamed with a pale face. Satisfied, the beast opened its ghastly mouth to consume him.

"Gods! Please save me! I was wrong! You weren't making my life hell!"

Just as the mouth began to close to consume him, two spears made of flame whistled through the air. Blistering air mass rose as the spears rushed forward, and the beast sensed their presence. Instinctively, the beast jumped back to evade the spears.

Olly was stunned.

"The gods really listened to my prayers?!"

As he wondered, a hand arrived in front of him. It belonged to Zed.

"Olly, quickly stand up!" Zed politely said while offering him support.

Olly was shocked by the help from the person he has taken a recent dislike. Now wasn't the type to think of such a thing and he tried to grab his hand, but sadly, they were crushed by the Dark Beast.

"Don't give up!" Zed motivated him.

Olly clenched his teeth and moved his hands to take support, but once again failed. He became dejected.

"Olly, don't let a temporary set back affect you!"

Zed held Olly by his shoulders and made him rise.

"Everyone is relying on you!"

Olly rose to his feet but when he heard these words, his heart skipped a beat.

He knew Zed was saying this to motivate him in the middle of the crisis, but when he heard everyone relying on him... terrifying scenes popped up in his mind.

In those scenes, a certain golden-haired man always relied on him. In fact, that certain golden-haired man was the only person who ever relied on him...

"Hmm?"

Zed let go of Olly and looked at the ash ruins of the destroyed pool house. Black slime jumped out of the ashes and joined together.

"Cockroaches!"